Apparatus for extinguishing tank fires



April 24, 1934. F. H. STElNlCKE El AL 1,956,033

APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING' TANK FIRES Filed Dec. 10, 1951 %TTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 24, 1934 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING TANK FIRES Frank H. Steinicke and Harold J. Keller, Elmira, N. Y., assignors to American La France and Foamite Corporation, a corporation of New York Application December 10, 1931, Serial No. 580,096

Claims.

The object of the invention is to enable a suitable fire extinguishing medium, such as foam, to be discharged on to burning oil tanks quickly and conveniently by means of portable (as dis- 5 tinguished from permanently installed) apparatus, capable of ready'application to a tank fire, with a minimum of labor and without danger of the apparatus being deranged either while it is being set up or after it has begun to discharge the extinguishing medium on to the burning oil. The method and apparatus of our invention are illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation showing the relation of the parts to an oil tank in time of fire, Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged views of parts of the apparatus, and Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate stages in the setting up of the apparatus.

The foam, or other fire extinguishing medium, is applied to the tank by means of an elongated conduit 1 which may be built up of welded sheets of steel of thin gauge and which, for reasons which will presently appear, is of a length greater than the height of the tank on which it is to be used. At one end of the conduit is a discharge spout 2, preferably braced as at 3, and the other end of the conduit is mounted on a wheeled support comprising an axle 4, welded, clamped or otherwise secured to the conduit, and a pair of large diameter steel wheels 5, one on each side of the conduit and spaced far enough apart to give it a firm support at all times. The conduit can thus be readily trundled from its station to the burning tank. Handles 6 are shown connected adjacent the discharge end of the conduit to facilitate maneuvering the apparatus.

In Fig. 1 the conduit is shown placed ready for action, with the spout positioned to discharge the fire extinguishing medium over the rim of the tank wall 10, on to the oil therein, the lower end of the conduit being provided with couplings such as '7 for attachment of hose lines 9, as for component foam making solutions, although the fire extinguishing medium may be supplied to the conduit in any Way according to its nature.

To set up the apparatus in this manner I employ a sheave 11 adapted to be applied to the rim of the tank and, to this end, mounted on the end of a pole 12, which also carries a hook member or, preferably, a pair of spaced hooks 13, designed to find a stable seat upon the rim of the tank wall. The pole is long enough to enable its upper end to be hooked over the rim of the tank by an operator standing on the ground. A convenient method of raising the sheave pole is illustrated in Fig. 4, the base of the pole 12 being set close to the foot of the tank wall and its other end raised by means of a second pole 15 pivotally attached to it. When the sheave pole reaches the vertical position, it is readily lifted, as by the handle bar 8, to catch the hooks 13 on the tank rim thus producing a mounting for the sheave thereon.

With the sheave thus positioned the foamapplying conduit is advanced to the tank until its wheels abut the base thereof beneath the sheave and so that it extends radially from the tank. One end of the cable 14 is then attached to the conduit, at a point 20 remote from the wheels and, by hauling the cable, the discharge end of the conduit is raised about the wheel axis as a pivot and as illustrated in Fig. 5. The axle 4 is secured to the conduit close enough to the entrance end of it to permit this raising of the conduit to (and beyond) the vertical position,

i. e. through more than degrees, without bringing the end of the conduit, or the hose couplings, into contact with the ground. After the conduit has been raised to the vertical position, the lower end is wheeled away from the tank causing the conduit to ride down the rim until the spout comes to rest thereon, the position shown in Fig. 1.

The length of the conduit adapts it to use on tanks of various heights but with its hose-coupling end always withdrawn sumciently far from the Wall of the burning tank to afford great stability. To facilitate the removal and lowering of the conduit after the fire has been extinguished, lifting poles 16 may be afiixed to the conduit as indicated. By means of these poles the operators may lift the hook spout over the edge of the rim so that it can be thereupon lowered by the use of the tackle in the obvious manner. While the conduit is being raised by the cable these poles may simply drag along the ground (Fig. 5) and serve to sustain the weight of the conduit and prevent its falling in the event the cable is slackened for any reason. When the conduit is not in use these poles are laid along it and held in place by clips 17.

In the preferred form of the invention illus- I trated, and in Fig. 3 particularly, it will be seen that the sheave block 18 carries a pair of arms 19 spaced apart at their outer ends to form a yoke which receives the discharge end of the con- A comprising in combination with a sheave applied to the rim of the tank, a foam conduit having an outlet spout at one end and adjacent its other end hose attachment means and a wheeled support, adapting said end of the conduit to be advanced to the base of the tank wall beneath the sheave, a cable passing over said sheave and connected to the conduit at a point remote from the wheeled support, to raise the conduit, about said support, to a position where the spout extends over the tank rim adjacent the sheave.

2. Fire extinguishing apparatus for oil tanks comprising a rigid foam conduit having an outlet spout at one end and supported adjacent its other end on the axle of and between a pair of wheels, the length of the conduit beyond said axle being less than the radius of the wheels thereby permitting said conduit to be up-ended about the wheel axis against the tank wall, and the length of the conduit between the axle and spout being such that when the conduit is so up-ended the said spout is above the top of the tank wall and in position to engage the same upon the withdrawal of the Wheeled end of the conduit from the base of the tank wall.

3. In a fire extinguishing system for tank fires,

means for raising a conduit into position to discharge into the tank comprising a pole having at one end a hook member for attachment over the tank rim and adjacent the hook a sheave carrying a cable for the conduit and conduit-receiving means carried by the pole adjacent the hook member.

4. Oil tank fire extinguishing apparatus comprising in combination with a foam conduit, a sheave applied to the tank rim and carrying a cable for raising the conduit and a yoke adjacent said sheave adapted to receive and position the conduit when the latter is raisedby the cable.

5. Fire extinguishing apparatus for oil tanks comprising a conduit having an outlet spout and adjacent its other end a wheeled support, the length of the conduit and the location of its wheeled support being such that when the conduit is raised to a vertical position about the support the lower end is clear of the ground and the upper end and spout are above the top of the tank wall in position to engage the same upon the withdrawal of the wheeled end of the conduit from the base of the tank.

FRANK H. STEINICKE. HAROLD J. KELLER. 

